While Ohio Highway Patrol Lt. Mike Kemmer said this was the first time he had seen a football tossed into the prison, it's not uncommon for objects to be thrown over the fence due to the large perimeter. Kemmer told theBucyrus Telegraph Forum that authorities recover an estimated 90 percent of contraband before it gets into the correctional facility.

Fulton has a history with contraband in prisons. According to Coontz, Fulton used to work as a corrections officer but was fired for finding a prisoner with contraband and letting him keep it.